Annually, approximately 112,500 children under the age of 14 are hospitalized with foreign objects lodged in their windpipe. These foreign objects can prevent or otherwise impede airflow, causing oxygen deprivation which can lead to brain damage and even death. The longer the airflow is impeded, the more severe the brain damage can be and the higher the risk of death becomes. Some methods of removing foreign objects include the Heimlich maneuver and swiping a finger across the back of the victim's throat. Unfortunately, the Heimlich maneuver can break the victim's ribs and swiping a finger across the back of a victim's throat can cause the object to become further lodged within the victim's windpipe. Consequently, it would be beneficial to have a device for and a method of extracting foreign objects from a victim's windpipe that would not risk breaking the victim's ribs and would not cause the foreign object to become further lodged in the victim's throat. Furthermore, few people are properly trained to perform these procedures and therefore are reluctant to attempt such procedures when the need for such procedures arises. Consequently, it would be beneficial if the device was simple to use and the method was easy to perform so that an average person would be capable of, and willing to, utilize the device and the method in an emergency situation.
Some rescue procedures, such as traditional mouth to mouth resuscitation, require the rescuer to be exposed to the victim's bodily fluids. Because such contact is socially awkward and can cause the spread of disease, some potential rescuers will hesitate or refuse to perform the rescue procedure. Even when such hesitations do not exist, some potential methods of helping a victim place the rescuer at too great of risk for the method to be a viable method. For instance, sucking a foreign object from a choking victim's windpipe creates the risk that the foreign object will become lodged in the rescuer's windpipe. Consequently, it would be beneficial for a potential rescuer to have a device for and a method of safely and sanitarily sucking a foreign object from a victim's windpipe.
While choking hazards are most frequently associated with young children, teenagers and adults are not immune from such hazards. Consequently, it would be beneficial if the device for removing a foreign object from a victim's windpipe could be used with victims regardless of their age or size.